The main purpose of a school system is to educate children to become useful, productive citizens. Somewhere during the last 50 years or so, that purpose has been lost or put on the back burner.

When I went to grade school, the rules were clearly stated for behavior and dress. The requirements for grades were set down. And the requirements for promotion to the next grade were established for all to know. There was no suspension for misbehavior. Mild corporal punishment was administered by the nuns. Serious cases were handled by a conference with the parents with expulsion as the final measure when all else failed. Class sizes were 50 to 60 with one nun per class.

Somewhere along the line, small changes began eating away at the system. A student who broke the rules was suspended for three days. Wow, a three-day vacation.

I heard of a Nevada administrator who told teachers to make reports every three weeks on each student for the parents but not to say anything derogatory in the report. Johnny was doing poorly but donít say so as it might hurt Johnnyís self-esteem.

I went to an open house and learned that one class required 800 points to pass the class. These points could be earned three ways: one was to submit a newspaper article from a given area for 100 points ó no report about the article, just the clipped-out article. Eight were allowed per semester for 800 points.

I had teachers who were dedicated to teaching. They required proof that I read a book from the reading list in the form of a book report. I had to use paper and pencil to do math and show how I arrived at the answer. We also studied art and poetry. We studied history and geography. And we had mid-term and final exams covering all subjects. Oh yes, and there was that little something they are teaching less of now because it has been deemed non-essential ó penmanship.

Calculators and computers are being used more and more in school and in lower grades. Grades are given on a curve based on the highest score rather then being based on individual scores.

Challenge a child to run faster than another child, and he will do his best to outrun that child. School should challenge a child to learn, not make it easy for him to pass the class. Teachers need to excite the interest of the student to learn the subject. School administrators need to keep education as priority one when allocating funds. Extracurricular activities should take the cuts.

Teacher tenure is a hot topic right now. Schools are the only business with tenure. End that practice. A better basis for retaining a teacher is how well they teach students ó no shortcuts or image-enhancing grading systems.

Page 2 of 2 - A teacher elects to be a teacher while in college and choses an area of specialization such as math or history. They spend four years in college learning to teach. If they donít enjoy teaching or the pay, then let them get out into the non-academic world and compete with the rest of us.

Two high-school graduates in California sued the school system and the state board of education for failing to educate them. They had been discharged from the Air Force as functional illiterates. The California school system was set up to pass everyone once they passed the third grade regardless of how they did in class.

We need to set standards based on test scores for grades and promotion. We need to weed out poor teachers and reward motivated teachers. We need to excite students to learn. Our society has become more complex since I graduated in 1957; yet, we need to retain and improve basic skills like writing and knowing how we got the answer to a math problem. We need to educate our children to be thinking, responsible, productive citizens and not high-school graduates who depend on computers and calculators to do their work.